Is you idea of a cable card replacement by software to work on TiVo Series 3 and Series 4 and most likely Series 5 TiVos, if so how, a different type card that plug into the CC slot ?

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I expect that a downloadable security successor would not be backward compatible with existing boxes. There would be a very long period where the cable operators would be required to support CableCARD. There is the possibility of some external box a la Tuning Adapter (kludge) as well for legacy boxes.

What should have happened but didnt was a downloadable software-only successor should have been introduced that would have been nationally portable across all cable operators. There was a push for this a few years back that never came to fruition. That would have been a simple change to replace the hardware CableCARD with a software alternative that retail devices could adopt. AllVid was way more complicated as is are the proposed IP standards that include provisions for two-way control of IP content that are mandated in 2014.

I expect that a downloadable security successor would not be backward compatible with existing boxes. There would be a very long period where the cable operators would be required to support CableCARD. There is the possibility of some external box a la Tuning Adapter (kludge) as well for legacy boxes.

What should have happened but didnt was a downloadable software-only successor should have been introduced that would have been nationally portable across all cable operators. There was a push for this a few years back that never came to fruition. That would have been a simple change to replace the hardware CableCARD with a software alternative that retail devices could adopt. AllVid was way more complicated as is are the proposed IP standards that include provisions for two-way control of IP content that are mandated in 2014.

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I never had any problem taking out Lifetime Service on any TiVo I got as I did not think that TiVo going out of business and the TiVo guide data stopping was much of a risk, but cable card going out of use, that would be a real problem, unless new TiVos had both a cable card slot and the software alternative built in, than one could upgrade to the new type TiVo and still sell the cable card only TiVo on E-Bay, if cable cards would still be supported for at least 5 or more years.

Is you idea of a cable card replacement by software to work on TiVo Series 3 and Series 4 and most likely Series 5 TiVos, if so how, a different type card that plug into the CC slot ?

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No, it would just eliminate the CC and switch the whole thing over to software that Comcast could push through TiVo in real-time to the boxes. Although I'm sensing the TP's processor would buckle under the load...

What fool would trust Comcast to write good code and not deliberately sabotage the TiVo?

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They did it with XoD. That's outside of CableCard. Although you could argue it's because they make money off of it, and they were losing potential movie rentals on TiVos that the FCC forced them to support.

The court ruled that the dual mandate went too far and vacated a portion of the 'encoding rules' that includes CableCARD... at least that is my quick view on the ruling. The recent Charter Waiver request from the Media Bureau essentially poured more fuel on the fire acknowledging that the Echostar ruling essentially allows cable operators to provide alternative means of meeting the separable security mandate. In the case of Charter, they could stop supplying CableCARDs to customers once they have the downloadable security in place and 'one retail device' is available in the market (per the ruling).

More research is needed to fully understand TiVo's 31 page filing and the law associated with the Echostar ruling, etc.

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Sorry, more nitpicking. I see nothing in there, or the stuff you quoted, that argues against "the ability to record TV programming". Unauthorized access != recording.